Can opener



March H, 1952 A BOWN 2,588,347

CAN OPENER Filed April 11. 1949 f I f /7 I 1 W 4 Hum MUM, WW3

12 FIG-3 M WWW 1 INVENTOR. Ronald A. Bow'n ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 11, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN OPENER Ronald A. Bown, Denver, 0010. Application April 11, 1949, Serial N 0. 86,809 3 Claims. (CI. 30-15) This invention relates to a can opener and more particularly to a can opener providing means for raising the lid out of the can as the severing cut is completed.

Many different and separate types of can openers are known to the art and some of the various types have been rather widely accepted by the purchasing public. Many of the can openers now used are of definite utility inasmuch as they represent a marked improvement over prior means of opening the cans. However all of the present designs for can openers still do not provide for lifting the lid out of the can after the severing out has been completed. ,In fact, operation of most of the present types of can openers causes the lid when severed to fall downwardly into the can. When the lid has fallen into the can it is difficult to remove it therefrom and the housewife or person using the can opener must resort to the use of some auxiliary tool such as a fork, knife, ice pick or the like to remove the can lid before the contents can be poured into a suitable receptacle. A can opener that provides means for raising the lid out of the can so that the contents may be readily poured therefrom would be a device of obvious utility and a marked improvement in the art.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a can opener which will automatically move the severed lid from its normal position within the can to an out of the way position so that the contents of the can maybe readily removed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a can opener that may be easily positioned on and attached to conventional types of containers and that may be readily operated to sever the lid of said container from the cylindrical body portion.

Another object of this invention is to provide a can opener that may be engaged with the lip of a conventional container to sever the lid of the container from the cylindrical portion and that may be used for a pouring handle when so engaged.

A further object of this invention is to provide a can opener comprised of two main support members pivotally engaged together in scissors arrangement for interlocking engagement when in the closed position to hold a cutter member and drive wheel in positive operative arrangement.

Another object of this invention is to provide a can opener made up of two main support members, one of which provides a bottle opener attachment.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a can opener having a cutter member with a lip extension formed at the tip of said cutter member at approximately a right angle to the plane of said cutter member.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the appended description and drawings in which:

Fig. l is an end elevation showing the elements of this invention in cutting arrangement with respect to a conventional type container;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of member;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the drive wheel support member of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation port member;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the cutter support member of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view showing the interaction of the cutter lip extension and the container lid as necessary to raise the lid to its out of way position; and

Fig, 8 is an elevation showing a separate arrangement of cutter support and cutter.

Briefly stated the present invention provides a can opener in which a drive wheel. support a drive wheel support showing a cutter supmember and a cutter support member are pivotally engaged in scissors arrangement and one of said support members is provided with an extension bent upon itself which engages the other support member to hold the said supportmembers in semi-rigid position when the support members are moved to side by side position by the scissors action. As a special improvement this invention provides a lip extension that extends outwardly from the tip of the cutter member at approximately a right angle. In operation the drive wheel is placed under the crimped edge of a conventional container. The support members are gripped to move them into side by side relation, thus puncturing the container lid and engaging the can opener with the container. As the drive wheel is rotated the cutter severs the lid from the container and the lip extension prevents the lid from moving downwardly into the container. When the severing cut is almost complete, the lip extension, the cutting blade of the cutter member and the lid of the container interact in such manner that the lid is forced upwardly to an out of the way position approximately paralleling the cylindrical sides of the container.

Referring now to the drawings, the details of of the invention shown this invention will be more readily explained. In Fig. 3 the details of a drive wheel support member l I are clearly shown. In this figure it will be seen that the drive wheel support member II is itself provided with an L-shaped extension i2 on a lateral edge at one end of the support member I I and an irregularly shaped edge l3 at the other end thereof. In the embodiment shown, the edge I3 is so formed that it may be used as a bottle opener if so desired. At the end adjacent the L- shaped extension the drive Wheel support member II is provided with two holes, one of which is hidden in this figure. The first is pivot hole l4 and the other hole which is not shown provides a bearing surface in which a drive wheel shaft I! may be journaled. A drive wheel l3 having a serrated edge I9 is engaged with one end of the drive wheel shaft l1 and a key type crank 2| is provided on the opposite end of the dri-.e wheel shalt ll. It will be readily seen that rotation of the key 21 will cause rotation of the drive wheel H3.

The cutter support member 22 is shown in Fig. 5. In this figure it will be noticed that the cutter support member 22 is of approximately the sane length as the drive wheel support member Ii. Likewise a pivot hole 2.3 is pro vided in the cutter support member 22 in a pos-tion corresponding to the location of the pivot hole id in drive \3 heel support member H. A cutter member 24 having an inclined cutting edge 26 is formed integrally with the cutter support member 22 and on a side thereof opposite from the side of said cutter support member 22 that is to be adjacent the side of the drive wheel support member II. If so desired the cutter member 24 may be either formed integrally with the cutter support member 22 as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 6 or it may be riveted to the cutter support member 22 as shown in Fig. 8. For the purposes of manufacture where it is desirable to use a cutter member of harder steel that will maintain its cutting edge 26 long er, a separate cutter member 24a attached to the cutter support member 22 by means of rivets 25 will probably be preferred.

A portion of the cutter support member 22 extends outwardly past the cutter member 24 and is bent backwardly upon itself in such a manner that when the drive wheel support member II and the cutter support member 22 are arranged in operative position the exteniion 21 will engage the drive wheel support member H to hold the support members in fixed relative position. This feature is best shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

' A special feature of this invention is embodied in the shape and arrangement of the cutter member 24. In Figs. 5 and 6 it will be seen that the angularly disposed cutting edge 26 terminates in a point at its lower extremity and further that there is a laterally disposed extension at the point of said cutting edge 26. This laterally disposed extension or lip 28 is best shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6. In these figures it is shown that the lip 28 extends outwardly from the cutting member 24 at approximately right angles to the plane of the cutter member 24. As so formed, lip 28 produces a new result in the can opener art which is best shown and described in connection with Figs. 1, 2 and 7. In these figures it is seen that when the can opener is applied to the crimped edfe 29 of a container 3| and the support members are moved into side by side relation b means of a gripping action, the cutting blade 24 and the lip member 28 pierce the lid 32 of the can. At the pointof initial piercing a triangular opening 33 will be cut by the lip 28. As the key 2| is rotated drive wheel l8 will be rotated to cause relative motion between the cutter member 24 and the container 3|. As a result of the relative motion the lid 32 will be severed from the container 31 along a path adjacent the crimped edge 29. As the cutting action proceeds the angularly disposed cutting edge 2e in shearing the lid 32 causes the edge 34 of the lid 32 adjacent the cutting edge 28 to be bent downwardly toward the lip member 28. When approximately the full circumference of the lid 32 has been severed, this force exerted downwardly on the lid 32 by the shearing action of cutting blade 24 will bend the portion of the lid 32 that is still connected to the can until the downwardly disposed edge 34 of the lid 32 comes into engagement with the lip member 28. This engagement between the edge 34 of lid 32 and the lip 28 causes the partially severed lid to pivot upwardly out of its normal position until it assumes an out of the way position at approxmately right angles to its normal position when the cutting action has proceeded to the extent indicated in big. 7.

When the lid 32 assumes its out of way position substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and the contents of the can may be readily removed therefrom. If so desired, the can opener of this inventcn need not be removed from the rim of the can until after the contents have been poured out. In fact since the extension 2'5 on cutter support arm 22 tends to hold the support members l i and 22 in relatively fixed position the can opener itself may be used as a handle to carry the container 35 and to pour t--e contents therefrom.

Though separate embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention is adaptable to changes and Variations. Such changes and variations as are within the scope of the hereunto appended claims are deemed to be a part of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a can opener having a cutter supporting frame adapted for use in removing the lids of containers, a cutting blade of sufficient length to have its end beneath the cover to be severed when in cutting position, a cutting edge on said blade positioned to form a cover penetrating point, and

a lip extension on said blade at the penetrating point disposed outwardly from said blade at approximately right angles to the plane of the blade for engagement beneath the inner face of the cover that is being severed from the container and adapted to raise the cover up at the completion of the severing operation.

2. In a can opener having suitable drive means and a cutter sup-porting frame adapted for use in removing the lids of containers, a cutting blade of sufficient length to have its end beneath the cover to be severed when in cutting position, an angularly' disposed cutting edge on said blade positioned to form a cover penetrating point, and a lip extension on said blade at the penetrating point d'sposed outwardly from said blade at ap-' proximately right angles to the plane of the blade for engagement beneath the inner face of the cover that is being severed from said container and adapted to raise the cover up at the completion of the severing operation.

3; A can opener comprising a support member, a cutting blade mounted on said support member, said blade being of. sumcient length to have its end beneath the cover to be severed when in 2,588,347 5 cutting position, means for bringing said cutting REFERENCES CITED blade Into engagement Wlth the 11d of as The following references are of record in the necessary to penetrate therethrough, a cutting file of this patent. edge on said blade forming a cover penetrating point, and a lip extension on said blade at the 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS penetrating point disposed outwardly from said Number Name 7 Date blade for engagement beneath the inner face of 1,876,421 Jersey Sept. 6, 1932 the cover that is being severed from said con- 2,023,744 Polak Dec. 10, 1935 tainer and adapted to raise the cover up at the 2,085,219 Hosmer June 29, 1937 conclusion of the severing operation. 10 2,237,418 Fender et a1. Apr. 8, 1941 RONALD A. BOWN. 

